


The Walk of Ash

by Amaryllis14612



Series: The Future, Before Us [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, OC-centric, World Travel, post-colonialism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25990075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaryllis14612/pseuds/Amaryllis14612
Summary: Prologue. Kōyō recounts her journey as she touched down on The Republic City.It's been several years since the end of the war ...
Relationships: Jin & OC (briefly)
Series: The Future, Before Us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886341
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	The Walk of Ash

_“When a girl sets out, maybe she’s not running away. Maybe she’s trying to find herself somewhere.”_

Kōyō arrived at the port of the Republic City, formerly known as Yu Dao, on a bright day. The ship on which she had spent 3 weeks proved not worth the several gold pieces saved.

_“Should’ve boarded the Hikari.”_ She thought to herself at the deck, clinging onto the bars as waves pushed the steam-ran water-elephant to closer to the land.

The gray line at the horizon of her sight slowly began to rise seemingly from the ground, touches of colors permeated her eyes as shapes began to distinguish and separate into little boxes. There it is, the shining jewel on the coast of Yue, the promise of peace between all nations, the hopes for a future better than today: The Republic City.

Having been at the University of Ba Sing Se at the time of its founding, Kōyō first heard of it only from the fragments of conversations between students. It was only rumor at the time. Something about the Fire Lord having a fallout with the Avatar, but they made up quickly, and the joint solution for Yu Dao was to make it a separate state. She was much more gullible at the time, and the gossips sounded like music in her ears. Even so, she maintains the position that it was a wise decision.

Earth King Kuei confirmed the news several days later and Ba Sing Se’s public opinions were divided. At least within the population of her peers at the University. Patriots were the most vocal, as she would expect, as they strongly and proudly opposed any solution in which Yu Dao wasn’t “returned” to “them,” despite most of “them” being born long after Yu Dao had been colonized. Scholars, and many of her professors included stood their ground firm in the middle in saying that withdrawing the colonizing forces would effective cause the region to collapse almost immediately, and something vague about two wrongs doesn’t make one right and how to differentiate between “earth” and “fire” in a land such as Yu Dao. Of course being scholars, their opinions were generally discarded and accused by the patriots for being traitors as tension rose between them. While the people did not have a say in this matter, the fact that the majority of them have not been outside of Ba Sing Se their entire life produced a rather lukewarm reaction to the news. Ba Sing Se itself was recovering, not just from the brief period under the technical rule of Princess Azula, but also the mistakes of a government handled by a secret police force. Some people were more concerned as to whether the Earth King was still suitable for his position!

She remembered talking to Jin, who was probably the most impartial person she knew, as she broke the arguments from every side down over a cup of jasmine tea. Jin seems to like jasmine a whole lot and she never got the chance to ask why. Any day that they have some spare time after school, Jin would mount her on the back of the old bicycle, passed down from her grandfather, and speed into the Upper Ring, towards the Jasmine Dragon to enjoy some wiring down. The old man who owned the shop was the friendliest soul she’s ever met, and the warmth radiating from his smile makes it impossible to not love the place. People really can change, Kōyō thought.

Thinking back, she finds herself missing Jin. When they said their teary goodbyes at one of the many gates of Ba Sing Se, which are now always open in the most welcoming fashion, Jin looked as though she believed they would never see each other again, despite their promise to reunite at some point in the future, when they are both more certain of who they are. But she didn’t think it applied to Jin, the girl has always been so determined, so sure, so unlike her. She knew one day, Jin would make a brilliant thinker, a fascinating professor perhaps, or even an advisor. She on the other hand, needed some time.

And hence, after a year in Ba Sing Se, watching the city mend the wounds of the war while actively trying to fix its past, Kōyō decided to travel some more.

Before coming to the Earth Kingdom, she had taken a turn and went to the Western Air Temple purely out of curiosity. The buildings were in ruins but it surprised her to see many of the artifacts and murals still intact. It appeared as though somebody had frequently came by to clean it up. As she mused over the mural carved with the birth of Avatar Yangchen, a gentle gush of wind gathered leaves around her feet and teased the hem of her cape. A giant cotton ball lowered itself from the cliff and finally appeared fully before her as a sky bison. The Avatar’s sky bison.

Kōyō bowed out of respect before she even saw the Avatar, who she heard was only a little boy. And was the rumors true. Kōyō could hardly consider herself an adult at that point but the Avatar looked like he had just hit puberty not so long ago, his face still full of life and innocence. Although after having known him, she now believes it is part of his kind-hearted and compassionate personality. He had quickly, and nervously, told her to drop the formality as he floated down and introduced his bison Appa, before remembering to introduce himself as Aang. After hearing her explanation, he happily volunteered to give her a tour of the Temple, which she happily took. And when he happily offered to drop her off at Ba Sing Se, she happily agreed. Kōyō thinks she can trust him with the world if that was ever in her power.

After Ba Sing Se, Kōyō went to Omashū, and the city surprised her with its prowess and how fast it was at dealing with the aftermath of the war. Then again, Omashū was only under the Fire Nation for a brief period of time, within which citizens were safely evacuated, leaving behind barren land and a captured King who wasted no time in recapturing his city at the first chance he got. Many citizens of Omashū talked about their mad King as one would talk proudly about their overachieving child. Crazy as he is, he had maintained the livelihood and comfort of his citizens throughout his rule, not purely from the threat of external threats, but also through his transparency and friendliness. As he, himself, was lowly born, he believes in respecting his people, allowing awareness, and awarding merits. To him, anybody could be royalty. They weren’t thrilled about his occasional slides down the delivery system though.

Kōyō had left Omashū after several months after being enamored with its progresses. She spent a little while on foot, passing by small villages and tribes hidden so deep within the forests that even the all-consuming forces of the Fire Nation army could not reach them. For these people, who have only heard of the destructions of the war, life seemingly goes on as normal, although some folks swore they would be ready to defend their villages with their lives. Bigger villages took greater hit. Kyōshi, she saw, was burnt almost to the ground, by a particularly hot-headed teenager, who has then done everything in his power to aid the rebuild of the entire island. In some villages though, the pain of loss was far greater. Their lands were no longer cultivatable, their houses tattered, their families broken up, gone forever. Although the Fire Nation army has withdrawn from every post, it seemed as though fire continued to burn without needing any bender. She felt guilty walking through ashes of houses, gazing into hollow cheeks of unfed children and empty eyes of lonely elders. Kōyō wondered if they would even be willing to accept reparation, their wound was so deep it must feel like an insult for their victimizer to just slap some cash on and move along.

_“The world was never going to be the same again.”_ She thought, gathering droplets of water from the roof, remained from the recent rainfall, into a little wooden bowl.

“Where are you from?” The new mother asked, accepting the bowl from Kōyō and brought it to her baby’s mouth.

“The Jiangyin village, in the East of the Kingdom,” “Jiufen, a small town in the mid of Southern soil,” “Way up in the North, a name you won’t even recognize,” “I’ve been a refuge my whole life but I grew up mostly in the West,” “It’s right at the stream where the river begins,” ……

There were far too many options, except the truth. Kōyō went with the second to last one.

“You seem to have a big city dialect though. I guess I’m not that great at guessing huh? It can’t be helped, I’ve never been outside the village gate after all.” She thought the cheery tone of the young woman sounded peculiarly like mourning bells.

Towns and cities were the more interesting of the bunch. Kōyō saw much divide between possibly every possible demographic of the town. Old patriots were simply too proud to accept reparations from their own enemies, citing that the town is being bought, young patriots eager to collaborate with said enemy, citing that it would be foolish to not accept money coming their way. The poor waiting at arms for decisions to be made on their lands, the wealthy stern on trying to keep their money through purchases and investments. Colonial sympathizers and unsympathizers fighting in the streets were a daily sight. Those who participated in the regime, those who have had relations with the colonizing forces, those born of both fire and earth, were all lost in the midst of reformation, belonging to nowhere, of no one’s patriotic consideration. These people often contemplated The Republic City, which to them seems like a land where misfits can somehow magically fit.

But before coming to the shining pearl of peace and harmony, and discrimination, Kōyō traveled to the poles, where she learned of the strength bonding the water people together. Although literally a world apart, the water people were perhaps the quickest in aiding each other in the aftermath of the war. As the Southern Tribe was almost completely desolate as of the events that happened within a decade, the Northern Tribe sent not just reinforcements, but their own people. Water people are known to be adaptable in any circumstances, and thus, their progresses have been remarkable. She’s had a fling too, with a young man who originated from the North, but has been sent to the Southern Tribe. Eager to embrace his new life, he soon got caught up in the significant freedom he’s just been allowed and proposed to Kōyō with a beautiful necklace after only several weeks of knowing her. She has politely turned him down and left the South Pole shortly afterwards on a Hai Xing. Although internal political unrests were not rare, especially from those who disagreed with Chief Hakoda’s “overly friendly” approach to international relations, the South Pole looked as though it’s reaching its magnificent bloom.

Now, on the soil of the Republic City, Kōyō could feel as though the air had shifted. People went about their lives as though nothing was wrong. Those who wore green wore green, those who wore red wore red. Those who wore green forged iron and weaved, those who wore red rode on carriages and passed laws. There was an elephant in the room that none dared mention, thickening the air every moment it remained. Children with golden eyes played in the streets with those of green eyes but after a while, their parents would come and collect them silently, leading them back to different areas. A rather depressing sector of the town, she found, was full of women. Green-eyed women and their golden-eyed children. They were remains of colonialism and war, little toys to be discarded upon returning to the “homeland,” shunned by all sides, they retreated in a corner where they find solace in each other, praying for better lives for their children. _Hafu_ , mixed-breed, mutt, thrown around like rocks and pebbles by young, naïve students at their fellow classmates, who, by all account, looked not much different from the victimizers themselves. To Kōyō, it was apparent that while the tough caramelized sugar held the brittle candy together, little pieces of peanuts have no intention on interacting.

_“It would only grow into a problem.”_ She thought, remembering families she encountered in other towns in the Earth Kingdom, counting on pennies, hoping they would be granted a new life in the Republic City. _“Misfits will just be misfits here. Nothing will change unless something does.”_

Kōyō’s mind drifted to the day of the coronation of the new Fire Lord, up to this point, it had been about 3 years since. She remembered standing at the outer most end of the crowd, raising herself up, standing on tip-toe to catch snippets of a court official reading the coronation proclamation. Despite the bleak reality lingering above the red-tiled roofs of the buildings, there was something brewing beneath the surface. Something with aroma so sweet it could entice, calm, replenish. She thinks it’s like tea, Jin’s favorite jasmine tea. It takes great wisdom, determination and harmony to turn squiggly crushed little black leaves into an irresistible cup of tea. And thus, 2 months after her arrival in the Republic City, one afternoon mulling in a sidewalk drink stall later, Kōyō packed up her bags and boarded the first Hikari of the day back to her homeland that she hadn’t seen in several years, the Fire Nation.


End file.
